Expand+HOW TO APPLY
Apply using our online Postgraduate Applications Portal go.qub.ac.uk/pgapply and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply.

Find a supervisor
If you're interested in a particular project, we suggest you contact the releva...

Hide-HOW TO APPLY
Apply using our online Postgraduate Applications Portal go.qub.ac.uk/pgapply and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply.

Find a supervisor
If you're interested in a particular project, we suggest you contact the relevant academic before you apply, to introduce yourself and ask questions.

To find a potential supervisor aligned with your area of interest, or if you are unsure of who to contact, look through the staff profiles linked here.

You might be asked to provide a short outline of your proposal to help us identify potential supervisors.

Expand+Graduate
A 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required. While a Master’s degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is not essential, it is desirable and applicants without this qual...

Hide-Graduate
A 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required. While a Master’s degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is not essential, it is desirable and applicants without this qualification will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

International Students
For information on international qualification equivalents, please check the specific information for your country.

English Language Requirements
Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required. *Taken within the last 2 years.

International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.

For more information on English Language requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals see: www.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs.

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.

Expand+Programme Overview
French and Francophone Studies are part of the Modern Languages research cluster which provides a vibrant environment for both disciplinary and interdisciplinary scholarship. Recognised as a centre of excellence for research into ...

Hide-Programme Overview
French and Francophone Studies are part of the Modern Languages research cluster which provides a vibrant environment for both disciplinary and interdisciplinary scholarship. Recognised as a centre of excellence for research into the languages, literatures, histories, and cultural identities of Europe and beyond, the cluster is founded on a dynamic and forward-looking research ethos. Established research strengths in French include nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first century literature, linguistics, visual cultures, medical humanities, popular culture, postcolonial writing and Franco-Chinese writing.

Learning Outcomes
A PhD in French gives you the opportunity to follow your own research interests and to make an original contribution to the field. You will refine your skills in independent research, critical thinking, time management, and oral and written communication. A completed PhD is almost always required for academic jobs in French.

Course structure
You will normally register, in the first instance, as an ‘undifferentiated PhD student’ which means that you have satisfied staff that you are capable of undertaking a research degree. The decision as to whether you should undertake a PhD is delayed until you have completed ‘differentiation’.

Differentiation takes place about 9-12 months after registration for full time students and about 18-30 months for part time students. You will submit work to a panel of up to three academics and this is followed up with a formal meeting with the ‘Differentiation Panel’. The Panel then make a judgement about your capacity to continue with your study. Sometimes students are advised to revise their research objectives or to consider submitting their work for an MPhil qualification rather than a doctoral qualification.

To complete a doctoral qualification you will be required to submit a thesis of approx. 80,000 words and you will be required to attend a viva voce [oral examination] with an external and internal examiner to defend your thesis.

A PhD programme runs for 3-4 years full-time or 6-8 years part-time. Students can apply for a writing up year should it be required.

Learning Outcomes
A PhD in French gives you the opportunity to follow your own research interests and to make an original contribution to the field. You will refine your skills in independent research, critical thinking, time management, and oral and written communication. A completed PhD is almost always required for academic jobs in French.

Course structure
You will normally register, in the first instance, as an ‘undifferentiated PhD student’ which means that you have satisfied staff that you are capable of undertaking a research degree. The decision as to whether you should undertake a PhD is delayed until you have completed ‘differentiation’.

Differentiation takes place about 9-12 months after registration for full time students and about 18-30 months for part time students. You will submit work to a panel of up to three academics and this is followed up with a formal meeting with the ‘Differentiation Panel’. The Panel then make a judgement about your capacity to continue with your study. Sometimes students are advised to revise their research objectives or to consider submitting their work for an MPhil qualification rather than a doctoral qualification.

To complete a doctoral qualification you will be required to submit a thesis of approx 80,000 words and you will be required to attend a viva voce [oral examination] with an external and internal examiner to defend your thesis.

A PhD programme runs for 3-4 years full-time or 6-8 years part-time. Students can apply for a writing up year should it be required.

Expand+Research Information
Associated Research
Nineteenth, Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Literature
Travel Writing
Text and Image
Medical Humanities
Postcolonial Cultures
Caribbean literature and theory
Francophone African cultures
Big Data
...

Hide-Research Information
Associated Research
Nineteenth, Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Literature
Travel Writing
Text and Image
Medical Humanities
Postcolonial Cultures
Caribbean literature and theory
Francophone African cultures
Big Data
Franco-Chinese Writing
Life-writing and Autobiographical Studies
Linguistics (sociolinguistics, variation, corpus linguistics, discourse analysis)
Literature and visual cultures
Nineteenth-century novel and poetry
Popular culture
Postcolonial literature and theory
Twentieth and twenty-first century French and Francophone literature and film

We also have a strong record in supervising comparative and interdisciplinary theses across the different languages represented in the School of Modern Languages and with other Schools in the University. A number of recent and current research projects have been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the EU (Horizon 2020), including a project on the digitisation of popular culture in a transnational frame, one on cultural tourism and the role of festivals and one on temporality in French and Occitan oral narrative.

Expand+Assessment
Students will meet regularly with their supervisor(s), who will provide written and oral feedback; a formal assessment process takes place annually.

This Annual Progress Review requires students to present their work in writing and ora...

Hide-Assessment
Students will meet regularly with their supervisor(s), who will provide written and oral feedback; a formal assessment process takes place annually.

This Annual Progress Review requires students to present their work in writing and orally to a panel of academics from within the School. Successful completion of this process will allow students to register for the next academic year.

The final assessment of the doctoral degree is both oral and written. Students will submit their thesis to an internal and external examining team who will review the written thesis before inviting the student to orally defend their work at a Viva Voce.